September 4, 2019

State Land Office cancels grazing lease to company owned by Epstein

Mug shot of Jeffrey Epstein made available by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Department, taken following his indictment for soliciting a prostitute in 2006

The State Land Office announced the cancellation of grazing leases to a company owned by Jeffrey Epstein, the now-deceased disgraced financier who committed suicide before facing trial for sexual misconduct charges.

The leases surrounded Zorro Ranch, his 10,000 acre northern New Mexico compound that he owned since 1993. State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard said “this land was no doubt used to protect the privacy of Epstein and his co-conspirators, and today we took steps to take back this public land.”

Garcia Richard cited three reasons to cancel the leases of 1,234 acres of state trust land to a company called Cypress Inc.

“First, the Ranch’s obstruction of my access to inspect state trust land. Second, a written misrepresentation by Cypress that does not comply with State Land Office leasing requirements,” she said. “And finally, the Attorney General has concluded that Cypress may have obtained the leases through illegitimate means for purposes other than ranching or agriculture.”

The notice means the cancellation can become effective in 30 days, or on Oct. 4.

Epstein’s ties to New Mexico surround his ranch and includes political donations.

Epstein donated $50,000 to the reelection campaign of Gov. Bill Richardson in 2006, $15,000 to Gary King in 2006 for his run for Attorney General and $10,000 to Jim Baca in his 2006 campaign for state land commissioner. The candidates, all Democrats, donated the money to charities or returned the money.

Companies connected to Epstein also donated more than $30,000 to King’s unsuccessful 2014 gubernatorial campaign. King returned the contributions. Another company owned by Epstein donated to other candidates, including Richardson, previously. The candidates returned or donated the money.

Epstein bought Zorro Ranch from the family of former Gov. Bruce King in 1993, Gary’s father.

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A day after state health officials announced the highest single-day number of COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic, they announced 129 additional confirmed cases and five additional deaths related to the disease. On Saturday, the state Department of Health announced five additional cases at the Otero County Prison Facility.

A bill that supporters say will get tough on human trafficking and expand who has to register as a sex offender in the state took another step forward Saturday when the House chamber passed it unanimously. There was no debate on the bill on the House floor and it passed 66-0.

On a late March weekend, State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard headed out to the Permian Basin, to visit oil wells on state trust lands. These are wells that churn out profits for corporations, build up the state’s general fund from taxes and royalties and send money to schools and hospitals.

Representatives from both oil and gas producers and environmental groups found themselves agreeing on the State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard’s emergency rulemaking for oil and gas production on state land during an online tele-hearing.
The State Land Office announced earlier in April that it would begin an emergency rulemaking process to allow oil lessees to temporarily stop oil production without penalty for at least thirty days, in hopes of restarting production when the price of oil has recovered some. During the online tele-hearing, oil and gas representatives praised Garcia Richard and the State Land Office for its decision.
John Smitherman, senior regulatory advisor at the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association (NMOGA), described the rule as “valuable and practical relief.” Smitherman said the current oil price crisis, spurred by a price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia, and exacerbated by a steep drop in demand for oil and gas products amid the COVID-19 pandemic, has led to the “worst business environment” he’s ever seen.
“I’ve personally been in this business for over forty years, and have never seen the challenges we face today.

Investigators with the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office plan to turn over any information they gather about alleged sex crimes committed here by Jeffrey Epstein to federal prosecutors “as soon as possible,” a spokesman for the AG says. That means, for now, Attorney General Hector Balderas’ team is working as fact-gatherer for the US Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York, where Epstein pleaded not guilty last week to charges of sex trafficking of minors and sex trafficking conspiracy, says Matt Baca, senior counsel for Balderas’ office.

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Matthew Reichbach is the editor of the NM Political Report. The former founder and editor of the NM Telegram, Matthew was also a co-founder of New Mexico FBIHOP with his brother and one of the original hires at the groundbreaking website the New Mexico Independent. Matthew has covered events such as the Democratic National Convention and Netroots Nation and formerly published, “The Morning Word,” a daily political news summary for NM Telegram and the Santa Fe Reporter.